The Survivor
by Shizuka-chan16
Summary: What if Kyoji somehow survived the battle against the Devil Gundam? Told from his POV. Please R+R!


A narrow line of light shines into my opening eyes. My vision comes blurry at first, and then focuses after a moment or so. "Uh?" Where am I?  
  
This doesn't seem like Heaven to me. The first thing I see is a light blue sky dotted with white and gray clouds, then towering, rocky walls on either side of me.  
  
I try to sit up, or at least lift my head, to have a better look at where I am. But the moment I move, a terrible pain shoots through me, making my body feel like it has been set on fire. "Augh!" I fall back and lay perfectly still as the spasm passes. When I reopen my eyes, I realize I am smiling. It is pain! A terrible, stinging, nauseating pain! Dead people can't possibly feel such pain, so it has to be true. I am alive!  
  
Now I force myself to sit up, pulling my legs up closer for leverage. I ignore the feeling of faintness that comes over me, as I look myself over. I'm in the same clothes as when the Devil Gundam first took me: dusty purple pants, an opened grayed shirt which color I can't remember, and my favorite jacket, now torn and pale blue from a year's worth of dust and damaging. I raise my right hand and study it, making it into a fist and cranking it around. No green wires are wrapped around my arms like before. Not only am I alive, but also I am free. Domon truly had ended that curse of Schwarz's and mine.  
  
Schwarz? Whatever happened to him? I tap into the depths of my mind as best as I can. Sure enough, I feel his presence within me. No longer am I a split body and soul. I am whole again.  
  
Schwarz's strength must be applying itself to me as I find myself standing and staring at the canyon floor I stand upon. Rocks lie in every area, from pebbles to boulders. Miraculously, no debris is within 5 feet of where I have woken up.  
  
I see something out of the corner of my eye and turn slowly, feeling my aching arms bend into a stance. It must be the Ninjutsu of Schwarz kicking in. But there is no need for such jumpy actions as I see a sad sight.  
  
There is Gundam Spiegel, lying in a mangled heap of metal and wiring, still smoking in some areas. I feel my heart lurch in my chest as I limp towards it, staring at what was once its head. Part of me had grown very fond of this mobile suit, seeing it as a partner of sorts on the lonely trail of a warrior. Seeing it here as mere scrap metal is hard to bear.  
  
What a magnificent machine it was. I place a hand against a chunk of its arm, feeling its heat from the attacks. I speak softly to it. "Gundam Spiegel, I'll be back for you someday soon." Yes, I was a gundam scientist last time I bothered to remember. Once I rest up a bit, I can come back and restore it to its original glory. This thought brings me a great satisfaction and I turn towards the distant walls, now searching for a way out.  
  
I can see a pathway in the canyon and begin to trudge on it, dragging my right leg in the process. Already, sweat beads my brow. I smirk to myself, "If not for Schwarz's strength, I'd be lying there still." A year in the Devil Gundam has rendered me virtually as unfit as a newborn child in a 50k marathon. Still, I press onward until I come to a slight dip in the trail.  
  
Looking down to see where it leads, I gasp. From this spot I can see the shoreline, with water spraying up onto the rocks and sand. Instinctively I head there, stumbling on the gravelly terrain. It takes a good half hour until I'm finally standing inches from the surf, taking it all in.  
  
The salty sea air and the cackles of the gulls are welcoming to my senses as they remind me of home on the colonies. It immediately brings me back to the days when the family and I would stand outside and gaze out over the water towards the distant Earth. Yes, I remember it all too well, Father's talk about the gundam fights, Mother's laugh.and Domon's excited jabbering.  
"Huh?" I suddenly feel the urge to slap myself. How could I have forgotten about them all? Mother is dead, Father is imprisoned, and Domon.what about Domon?  
  
My heart wants to jump and sink at the same time. Did he make it through the battle? If so, where is he? How can I find him?  
  
I begin to walk along the shoreline, following it around the perimeter of the island. Maybe if I get a look at Neo Hong Kong, I'll come up with something. Right now I have no way off Lantao Island or the power to do anything else.  
  
I find myself smiling again despite my predicament. To be able to walk, to feel the sea breeze ruffling my hair, to be able to talk to myself, is something I've been without for a long time. Only Schwarz has had that pleasure, and with his face shielded by a mask and the sole objective to protect and teach Domon, he couldn't cherish such liberty.  
  
Something in the distance catches my attention and I come to a halt in the surf. It looks like it's moving, a shock for me, thinking I am alone on this battle-charred island. Curious, I approach at a slightly faster pace, trying to ignore the annoying pain in my legs.  
  
It is definitely a person, and as I come closer, I see he has black hair very much like mine in the fact that it appears wild and ill kept. But what strikes me as strangely unusual is the red cape that covers his form. Wait a second.a red cape? Black hair? It has to be!  
  
"Domon!" I shout out before I could stop myself.  
  
He flinches at the sound, having must have just barely caught it since I'm still so far away. All the same, he turns slowly around, craning his head towards me.  
  
Our eyes meet and we both freeze. He stands there on the rocky dune, staring like a zombie. Even at my distance, I can see his mouth has dropped open. It remains that way for a long moment. He must think I'm a hallucination that will fade away if he just keeps looking. I decide to take a few steps forward and call him again. "Domon!"  
  
I can't tell what he is thinking as he takes a hesitant step forward. This is strange for him since he's not one to act slowly over something. I stop again, suddenly feeling a tad unsure. What is he going to do?  
  
After hours worth of minutes, I hear something other than the roar of the breaking waves that pound up the shore to the side. It is a very quiet, yet very shaky, "K-Kyoji.?"  
  
I feel the corners of my mouth lift into a smile and I nod.  
  
Apparently that is all he needs for the katana he has been holding in his hidden hand drops to the ground and he runs at me as fast as he can, so fast I'm not sure if he'll be able to stop without taking me out. But I can't bring myself to move.  
  
The next thing I know, I have been plowed into the ground, sending sand flying up into the sky. Domon's arms are wrapped around me like iron and his head is pressed into my shoulder. The pain that shoots out from every part of me is excruciating but it doesn't matter to me at all.  
  
Domon's grip around me tightens as he begins to cry, his form shuddering harshly. As I return the embrace as best I can, I can't decide whether to laugh or cry myself. So I do both, wearing a smile as tears burn my eyes.  
  
"Niisan." he sobs, his voice muffled in my torn jacket.  
  
Niisan. I haven't heard that name in years, save those final moments inside the Devil Gundam, when he shouted it out while firing at me. But now we are brothers again, the same as when we were children, the same as ever.  
  
I respond with the only word I could allow slipping out of my mouth, a single word that had more meaning than the longest of sentences. "Ototo." 


End file.
